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The Greatest Ever Music City?

12 Oct 06 - 09:03 AM (#1856719)
Subject: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith

My vote would go to Paris.


12 Oct 06 - 10:48 AM (#1856830)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Rasener

Birmingham


12 Oct 06 - 10:49 AM (#1856831)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Scrump

In what sense "greatest"? The term is open to interpretation.


12 Oct 06 - 10:54 AM (#1856843)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko

Nashville, New Orleans, New York City.

Something about cities with the letter "N".


12 Oct 06 - 10:55 AM (#1856844)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Leadfingers

There are only two cities that are associated totally with one form of music - Vienna for the Waltz , and the one I would vote for , New Orleans , the birthplace of Jazz !


12 Oct 06 - 11:00 AM (#1856850)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Big Mick

Impossible question, from the perspective of this Irish American. We have such a varied musical scene and tastes that it would be based on what type of music one is talking about. Depending on the genre, Nashville, New York, Dublin, Chicago, London, Liverpool, Austin, Paris, New Orleans, San Francisco, and on and on.

I think the better question is "What city is the center of your musical world?", and I am not at all sure that could be answered.


12 Oct 06 - 11:01 AM (#1856853)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Paco Rabanne

Salzburg.


12 Oct 06 - 11:33 AM (#1856901)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Les in Chorlton

Manchester.

Harry Boardman, Mike Harding, The Hollies, The Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Gorton Tank, Paul Granney, Terry Wheelan, Ewan McColl, Rosie Hardman, Jozeph Roberts, The Loansome and Peniless Cowboys, Marie Little,M People,
I'll have a rest now.


12 Oct 06 - 11:37 AM (#1856913)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: pdq

In the early 60s it was New York.

In the late 60s it was the San Francisco Bay area, maybe Los Angeles.

Now it is either Nashville or Austin depending on how 'progressive' you are.


12 Oct 06 - 11:48 AM (#1856925)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: the one

hull & beverley.


12 Oct 06 - 12:28 PM (#1856981)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Earl

Memphs, of course.


12 Oct 06 - 12:42 PM (#1856997)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Don Firth

I don't know about the "Greatest," but Seattle's pretty good. The Seattle Symphony is world-class and it makes its home in a marvelous new concert hall (lush, with outrageous accoustics), Seattle Opera is the 4th largest opera company in the United States, there is an excellent ballet company here, and there are dozens of venues for folk musicians and singer/songwriters. And a HUGE folk festival over Memorial Day weekend.

Not to mention several theater companies. A great city for actors.

Greatest? Probably not, but it ain't bad.

Don Firth


12 Oct 06 - 02:29 PM (#1857076)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Mooh

Greatest city? Greatest county? Greatest country? Forgive me please for being grumpy, but it's kinda like musical jingoism, as music is what I hope will draw us all together regardless of geography, or any other factor. The world gets smaller and music gets more universal. Living in redneck central Ontario I try to avoid "greatest" rationale. I live in hope nonetheless.

But if I have to answer, Planet Earth.

Peace, Mooh.


13 Oct 06 - 07:34 AM (#1857684)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Steve Latimer

Chicago in the fifties would have been pretty special. All of the great Chess artists performing around town. I have never been to Nashville, Memphis or Austin. I have been to New Orleans. I can't imagine a more musical place. I am supposed to go to Austin on business soon. I am looking forward to checking out some of the venues.


13 Oct 06 - 07:37 AM (#1857687)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Big Mick

I don't believe Toronto should take a backseat to anyplace. It is vibrant and eclectic. The talent that resides there is staggering. The creative community is organized and varied.

Mick


13 Oct 06 - 08:07 AM (#1857709)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: George Papavgeris

It's a city that produced an easy 40% of the country's best songwriters - and songs - of the last 100+ years. A city that combines sea and mountain, valley and river, history and war, religion and commerce, farming and industry. A city whose annual Festival of Song has consictenty launched a number of 30- and 40-year long singing careers. A city about which at least 8 great songs (to my memory) have been written - and a lesser one that I wrote myself. Now, that's what I call a music city.

It is Thessaloniki (or Salonika), in Central Northern Greece (or Greek Macedonia, as we like to call it).

OK, as a Thessalonikan I am prejudiced. That doesn't stop me from being right, though. Or modest.


13 Oct 06 - 08:14 AM (#1857715)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Big Mick

Berlin, NJ, USA, where the sounds of Uilleann pipes, tenor banjo, guitar, bouzouki, whistles, and bodhran can be heard on my front porch on any given night. And if the right folks stop by, we will sing little doo wop as well. Yep, Berlin, NJ, USA for sure.

Mick


13 Oct 06 - 12:07 PM (#1857926)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Les in Chorlton

The Halle, Nymphs and Shepherds, The Oasis, The Jungfrau, Manchester Sports Guild, The Beech, The Ducie, Pevril of the Peak, The Folk Train, South West manchester cricket Club, The Palace in Leveshulme, The Unicorn The Lowery (?), but please this is only light-heated.


13 Oct 06 - 02:13 PM (#1858037)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Bill D

There's as much FOLK music in the Wash. D.C. area as anywhere...and didn't this place once sorta center on folk music?


13 Oct 06 - 09:26 PM (#1858388)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Hugh Walter Jennings

Don't know how many hail from Belfast, but the best ever does.
Van !

Austin's a good one as mentioned.


14 Oct 06 - 06:41 PM (#1858969)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: John on the Sunset Coast

"It's Music City, Sunset and Vine." A long gone record and music store in Hollywood, CA. It was the hangout for high schoolers in the 1950s. It was owned by a Capitol Records family member, and was across from the NBC radio and TV studios.


14 Oct 06 - 10:41 PM (#1859119)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Mooh

Okay, I'm not so grumpy now.

Per capita, it's hard to beat the efforts of some small towns to present and embrace music. In my town of roughly 7500, there is a decent celtic festival (www.celticfestival.ca), a celtic kids camp, adult celtic college, a new blues festival which promises to be annual, a regular concert series (Sue Foley, Ellen McIlwaine, and Rachel VanZantan are up next), a regular weekly open mic or two, weekly piping down of the sun in the summer months, a summer concert series in a park and in the town centre, occassional concerts in church and community halls, a town band, legion band, several regular performing groups of various styles around the area, several church choirs and praise bands, likely a dozen piano teachers, and teachers of other instruments, an active high school music program, music for young children, musical theatre, recitals, seasonal music programs, coffee houses (some even at the high school), and lots of one-off music events.

We're not unique this way, lots of smaller communities do the same. Greatest? Hard to compete. But damn good for the size.

Peace, Mooh.


15 Oct 06 - 01:41 AM (#1859167)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Mike Miller

From a folksinger's point of view, Philadelphia has more paying venues than any other town I have been to, and I have lived in Dublin, Tel Aviv, New York, Boston and Los Angeles. (And this is before I knew about Big Mick's Celtic sessions in nearby Berlin, N.J.) There are, literally, dozens and dozens of professional folk performers earning a living in the tri-state area around Philly.
Philadelphia is the center of many folkmmusic events and genres. Banjoists come from everywhere to hear the annual Mummers Day parade with its scores of string bands. Philadelphia is one of the major centers of Black Gospel choir singing and one can find at least one concert every Sunday. Ethnic festivals and bazaars are everywhere. There are thriving Puerto Rican, Irish, German, Scottish, Jewish and Italian culture societies, each with a full program of music and dance. The Philadelphia Folksong Society is the nation's largest and best funded. The Philadelphia Folk Festival just held its 45th successful weekend.
For a folksinger, Dublin is heaven but Philadelphia is parnessa.

                         Mike


15 Oct 06 - 10:12 PM (#1859895)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: fumblefingers

New Orleans in the 30s
Nashville in the 40s
Memphis in the 50s
London in the 60s
Don't remember the seventies
Austin in the 80s


15 Oct 06 - 10:21 PM (#1859908)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Joe Offer

Well, last night I would have said Dutch Flat, California, a little Gold rush town about two streets by three streets. We went to the "Divas of Dutch Flat" concert in the old dutch Flat school house last night - old-time music and banjo and clogging by Debby McClatchy, harp by Christine Bonner, and opera by Sussy Flanagan (the owner of the Dutch Flat Hotel). Afterwards, there was a reception in the hotel, with crab cakes, shrimp, wine, and other delectables.
Pretty classy for a town that size.

Of course, I had some pretty wonderful music experiences in Ashwell in Hertfordshire, and in a couple of places in Yorkshire.

I think the best music towns are the ones where people gather to make their own music.

-Joe-


15 Oct 06 - 10:29 PM (#1859916)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,TIA

Cape May Point, NJ

Long story......


16 Oct 06 - 12:47 AM (#1859991)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: greg stephens

Stoke-on-Trent. With New Orleans an honourable second.


16 Oct 06 - 02:17 PM (#1860543)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Stu

Brum, no doubt. It's where Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne come from.


16 Oct 06 - 05:36 PM (#1860730)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,ibo

burnley


16 Oct 06 - 08:02 PM (#1860860)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: frogprince

Evert, Michigan, is little more than a one-horse place, but runs a great summer concert series. Ann Arbor, MI., has the Ark, which
"single-handedly" provides more great music than many larger towns ever have.


16 Oct 06 - 09:20 PM (#1860906)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: number 6

It may not be the greatest, but I'm going to have to mention Galway Ireland .... the finest street musicians I have ever heard was in that town ... and that to me says a lot... the hear of it's music in a city is from it's people ... not necessarily from recordings in a city's various studios, or in it's 'night clubs'.

sIx


16 Oct 06 - 10:49 PM (#1860960)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: number 6

typo correction ... "the hear of it's music in a city is from it's people" ... should be the heart of it's music ..."

sIx


17 Oct 06 - 12:36 AM (#1861000)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Padre

Leipzig Germany, where J S Bach was Kapellmeister for many years, would be a good choice.

Padre


17 Oct 06 - 03:55 AM (#1861058)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Les in Chorlton

Well, I have to say on evidence alone it must be the home of the Industrial Revolution!


17 Oct 06 - 10:00 AM (#1861256)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST

Cape Breton


17 Oct 06 - 10:07 AM (#1861259)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Les in Chorlton

Well, not sure about this, but was Cape Breton the home of the Industrial Revolution?


18 Oct 06 - 08:48 AM (#1862086)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST

No, it was the home of the deindustrial revoloution...really.As in all our trades have gone..to Alberta, I think.


18 Oct 06 - 03:11 PM (#1862438)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson

Why do you think Nashville is called "Music City USA"

No place else is, is it?


18 Oct 06 - 03:41 PM (#1862459)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Greg B

>Why do you think Nashville is called "Music City USA"

Because if they called it 'Armpit City USA' they wouldn't
book near so many hotel rooms?


18 Oct 06 - 03:54 PM (#1862469)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson

Well, GregB, obviously you know very little about music to come back with that kind of answer. But you fit right in with mant here for that reason.

May I suggest that you take the time and research why Nashville is referred to Music city USA?


18 Oct 06 - 10:47 PM (#1862838)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Don Firth

As I mentioned above, Seattle and environs has several good folk venues. One source of information on what's going on is Victory Music in Tacoma (about 30 miles south of Seattle, but they have info on the whole Puget Sound area). Give the "Event Calendar" a look to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Also, be sure to check out this thread. Dusty Strings is one of the real hot-spots for folk music activity around Seattle.

On other music fronts, I knew that the Seattle Symphony, first whipped into shape by Milton Katims, then honed and polished by current director Gerard Schwarz, has become a truly world-class orchestra (lots of excellent CDs out) and is a real going concern. Recently they have expanded their services to the community. They're very "kid friendly." Just today, I heard about their "petting zoo" for kids. This is an opportunity for children to meet the musicians and let the young-uns try some of the instruments. Here's a run-down on some of the things offered for youngsters:
Tiny Tots, a series of five concerts that give little ones ages birth-to-five a chance to sing, dance, and wiggle at 40-minute long sessions presented by early-childhood musical performers. Offered on Tuesday or Saturday mornings.

Discover Music! , for kids ages five to 12, which is offered in a series of five hour-long concerts on Saturdays and includes a pre-show instrument "petting zoo."

Light Classics, for teens, which is offered in a series of three Saturday evening concerts, features familiar classics and rising stars of symphonic music.

Soundbridge Museum, located in Benaroya Hall on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Union Street, offers a fun introduction to symphonic music, weekly musical storytelling sessions, and music classes.

And the following note for adult attendees of Seattle Symphony concerts:

"If you're going to the Symphony without the kids, tell your sitter to call 206.215.4825 and give the sitter the exact seat location (aisle, section, row, & seat number) so you can be easily located in the event of an emergency."
By the way, Emmy-Lou Harris will be performing in a special Christmas concert with the Seattle Symphony on December 22nd and 23rd, 2006, both performances at 8:00 p.m.

Don Firth


19 Oct 06 - 02:23 PM (#1863456)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Greg B

It was a joke, Martin.

You see, for marketing purposes they often work up a
slogan, and the idea is that slogan will bring in all sorts
of vacationers who'll spend money, but if the slogan...oh
never mind.


20 Oct 06 - 04:31 AM (#1863948)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,anti-Spike

That would be New Orleans. And let us thank God that Elvis Costello has seen fit to save it, using Allen Toussaint as a beard. Opportunist wanker saved Burt Bacharach from oblivion, and now he's put on a stingy brim and gone after New Orleans... aw don't get me started on that strangulated warbler of cut-rate pop.

New Orleans, definitely.


20 Oct 06 - 02:24 PM (#1864441)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: GUEST,Mike Miller

My answer of Philadelphia was from the viewpoint of the professional folksinger. Viewed from the jam session perspective, Dublin is terrific and so was Austin. Open bluegrass sessions are most abundant in the Richmond and D.C. areas and, back in the day, one could do a lot worse than the coffeehouses on MacDougle St. in Greenwich Village. I have never spent much time in the audience but I would imagine that NYC, with its hundreds of venues, would be a winner, as long as one didn't have to find a parking space. London, which is, at least, as populous as New York, is surprisingly inactive as an entertainment Mecca. Chicago makes London look like Camden, NJ in comparison.

                      Mike


20 Oct 06 - 02:53 PM (#1864466)
Subject: RE: The Greatest Ever Music City?
From: Wiggy River

This is a purely subjective response, mind you. But, my answer has to be New Orleans, Memphis and all points in between along the Mississippi River.

As for NOLA, the music never stops. For each musician we lost in Katrina, another has popped up to take his place. I love our local music, but the Delta always tugs at my heart strings.